Colorado Court Overturns Failure To Register Conviction §18-3-412.5(1), C.R.S., 16-22-103(1)(b), C.R.S. Based On Out Of State Conviction

by Colorado Sex Offender Failure To Register Defense Lawyer – H. Michael Steinberg

In a recent Colorado case – People v Lorenzo Brooks – the defendant’s conviction for failure to register as a sex offender was overturned because his out of state Texas conviction had no Colorado sex crime equivalent

The Colorado court of appeals concluded that Brooks was not required to register as a sex offender in Colorado and should not havebeen convicted for failing to do so. Here is their analysis.

(The Colorado Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the decision.- so this is now the law of the state of Colorado on this subject).

The rule in Colorado in this complex case which addresses Colorado’s Sex Offender registration laws – posed the question of whether section 16-22-103(1)(b), C.R.S. 2011, which requires an element-by-element comparison of a defendant’s out-of-state conviction with that of an existing unlawful sexual offense in Colorado. – was properly followed.

The Factual Background of The Colorado Failure To Register Case

In 1994, defendant pleaded guilty in Harris County, Texas, to the crime indecency with a child by exposure, Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.11(a)(2) (West 1994) and was sentenced to ten years in the Texas Department of Corrections.

His case was then transferred to El Paso County, Colorado, where he pleaded guilty in another case to the Colorado crime of aggravated robbery and thereafter eceived a lengthy prison sentence.

After his parole in 2007, the defendant was told that he must register as a sex offender under the Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act, §§ 16-22-101 to -115, C.R.S. 2011, based upon the  Texas conviction.  He did – for 7 quarters – but then moved without updating the sex offender registry.

He was later charged with  – and convicted of two felony counts of failing to register as a sex offender.

The Analysis of Colorado’s Failure to Register Law – 16-22-103(1)(b)

The Duty to Register As A Sex Offender In Colorado

The Court found that Brooks was not required to register as a sex offender, and, therefore, could not be legally convicted of failing to register.

Colorado’s Sex Offender Registration Requirements

In Colorado – to be guilty of the criminal offense of failing to register as a sex offender, the defendant must be “[a] person who is required to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S [the sex offender registration statute].” § 18-3-412.5(1), C.R.S. 2011.

The Colorado law reads that – “the purpose of sex offender registration is not to inflict additional punishment on a person convicted of a sexual offense, but rather to aid law enforcement officials in investigating future sex crimes and to protect the public safety.”

(and that)..  Any person who was convicted on or after July 1, 1991, in another state or jurisdiction . . . of an offense that, if committed in Colorado, would constitute an unlawful sexual offense, as defined in section 18-3-411(1), C.R.S.” is required to register under the Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act. § 16-22-103(1)(b), C.R.S. 2011.

The Colorado Crime of Indecent Exposure 18-3-411

Section 18-3-411(1), C.R.S. 2011, states that an unlawful sexual offense includes “indecent exposure, as described in section 18-7-302. Indecent Exposure was then defined as knowingly expose[d] his genitals to the view of any person under circumstances in which such conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm to the other person.” § 18-7-302(1)(a).

The Court determined that the elements of the defendant’s Texas conviction of indecency with a child by exposure. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.11(a)(2). Was not the equivalent of the Colorado sexual offense of indecent exposure because the Colorado crime of indecent exposure contains an element missing from Texas’s indecency with a child statute.

The Law Requires An Element by Element Comparison of the To State Codes

In this case – when the two offenses were contrasted, it was clear that Colorado required an additional element that the crime be “under circumstances in which such conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm to another person.”  and that the Texas statute lacked the additional element.

The Lesson Of This Case on Colorado’s Failure to Register Law 16-22-103,

If an individual moves to Colorado with a conviction for another’s state’s sex crime – after an analysis of the crime as compared to Colorado sex offender laws – the out of state conviction must satisfy all the elements at least one Colorado sex crime. If it does not – the individual is NOT not required to register as a sex offender because the out of state conviction does not fall within the statutory requirements of sections 16-22-103(1)(b), 18-3-411(1), 18-3-412.5(1), and 18-7-302(1)(a).3

Please call our law firm if you have questions about the ..

Failure To Register

H. Michael Steinberg has been a Colorado criminal law specialist attorney for 40 years (as of 2012). For the First 13 years of his career, he was an Arapahoe – Douglas County District Attorney Senior  prosecutor. In 1999 he formed his own law firm for the defense of Colorado criminal cases.

In addition to handling tens of thousands of cases in the trial courts of Colorado, he has written hundreds of articles regarding the practice of Colorado criminal law and frequently provides legal analysis on radio and television, appearing on the Fox News Channel, CNN and Various National and Local Newspapers and Radio Stations.  Please call him at your convenience at 720-220-2277

If you have questions about Colorado Failure To Register Laws in the Denver metropolitan area and throughout Colorado, attorney H. Michael Steinberg will be pleased to answer those questions and to provides quality legal representation to those charged in Colorado adult and juvenile criminal matters.

In the Denver metropolitan area and throughout Colorado, attorney H. Michael Steinberg provides quality legal representation to those charged in Colorado adult and juvenile criminal matters…as regards Colorado Failure To Register Laws.